The present invention relates generally to the field of work vehicles such as construction and agricultural vehicles, and more particularly to vehicles commonly referred to as skid-steer loaders.
A skid-steer vehicle is a compact, highly maneuverable vehicle which employs driving mechanisms on opposite sides of the vehicle for independently driving each set of wheels mounted thereon. In a skid-steer vehicle the engine is mounted in the rear. The traditional cooling system of prior art skid-steer vehicles aligns or stacks the cooling system in serial relationship with the engine. That is, the fan, the engine coolant liquid cooler (i.e. radiator) and the oil cooler are axially aligned behind the engine. This so-called “engine cooling stack” provides a relatively bulky cooling system.
While the structure shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,902, issued on Oct. 3, 1978 to Henline et al., has helped to make the engine compartment and associated cooling system more compact, the connection of the fan shroud, housing, or scroll to an engine mount with the fan connected to the engine crank, has required greater clearances between fan blades and shroud to inhibit the fan striking the shroud due to differential vibration between the shroud and fan during engine and/or vehicle operation. This results in a loss of efficiency of the fan and requires a larger fan to maintain proper cooling of the engine coolant liquid cooler and oil cooler.
Accordingly, it is not only desirable to shorten the length of this stack to provide a relatively compact and efficient cooling system for a skid-steer loader, but to provide a fan structure which allows for an increase in cooing efficiency by inhibiting differential vibration between the fan blades and shroud. Moreover, it is desirable to provide a cooling system design which allows for greater visibility to the rear of the vehicle by the vehicle operator. In this manner, a more compact cooling system will provide for a smaller engine compartment, permitting more efficient cooling of the engine.